Video Premiere: THE LIVING EYES – ‘SPRING’

It’s a big thrill to be premiering the video for ‘Spring’, the newest single from Geelong’s The Living Eyes. The track comes from the band’s forthcoming album ‘Modern Living’, which will be out on Friday November 17 through ANTI FADE Records.

Seasonal depression is a real thing. For those living in the perpetually sunburned areas of our country, ‘seasons’ aren’t really much of a thing. For myself, Brisbane’s colder months are pleasantly mild, but if you live in the southern states winter can be a real pain. I won’t go as far to say as Geelong malcontents The Living Eyes have suffered from a case of seasonal depression, but the band’s newest track ‘Spring’ certainly indicates that they’re glad to be heading towards warmer days.

‘Spring’ is the second single from Modern Living, the third album from The Living Eyes. It’s catchy as fuck, with a strong and potent guitar-driven sound that rings as clear as a clarion – heralding the defrosting of the soul and brightening of moods. You don’t have to dig real deep to figure that out though, as vocalist Billy Gardner makes his thoughts on the subject of the mid-year chill readily apparent:

The song sheds pretence and complication like we shed layers come September. It brings warmth to my cheeks and makes eager for days spent drinking in the sun, copping more freckles thanks to my ignorance of sun safety. While there’s still a scruffy edge to the tune, it almost seems jubilant. Maybe the winter got these dudes down, after all.

Weirdo Wasteland is premiering the video for ‘Spring’, but we also slung a few questions Billy’s way to get his take on the concept, the clip and what we can expect from the album. Read that, then watch the clip in full down below:

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This is the third album by the band – how long have the songs been in the works?Since maybe mid-2015. I slowed down on writing Eyes songs for a while before that and was listening to a bit of heavier stuff. I went overseas with another band Ausmuteantsand lent my buddy Jake’s iPod in the van a bit and got back into some chilled and rock stuff. So I had a few song ideas by the time I got home

In terms of growth, would you say you’ve implemented a few new wrinkles into the band’s writing/recording process?Yeah, for sure. I guess the new songs are more based around guitars rather than vocals. And my brother, Zane, joined the band on bass right before we recorded it so naturally, he brought a few new ideas to the table. But we are still rocking the old wrinkles too.

The recording process was rather similar in the way that it was done instruments live, then vocals and overdubs done at home, but it was different in the fact that we did it with Stu Mackenzie. That was a great time – they’ve got a really neat setup down at the Flightless studio.

Let’s talk about ‘Spring’ – it seems to speak plainly about your preference for warmer weather. What was the impetus for writing about seasonal changes?Haha yeah – I hate winter. I just ran out of other topics to write about, I think. Everybody loves spring, right? ‘Cept for the hayfever.

The song seems to have a bit of a sunny disposition in itself, a feeling of warmth – is it indicative of the album as a whole?I guess so – at least on a few songs. There are a couple more dark ones, maybe like three. But yeah, you could say it’s mostly pretty warm n bright throughout.

What can you tell me about the video? Who’s behind it and what was the approach to putting visuals to the sound?Our mate Darcy Kinna filmed it. He smashed it. Was a really fun and easy day. We just drank some beers in the backyard and played along to the song while he did his thing. There were plenty of laughs.

The idea of the video seemed pretty obvious. Like the verse is about winter and the chorus is about spring – so a clip like this seemed like an obvious go-to. I guess it also adds to the bright aspect you mentioned earlier.

If you could single out one aspect of Modern Living that you hope people catch on to when it arrives, what would it be?I just hope it comes off different to the last two records. I think it does. I also hope the title isn’t taken too seriously. Paris did a great job of the artwork in the case that it doesn’t seem too serious.

Watch the clip for ‘Spring’, shot by Darcy Kinna here:

Modern Living will be out through ANTI FADE Recordsin in Australia Neck Chop Records in the USA and Gone With The Weed in Europe on Friday November 17.